Up, Up and Away!

A hot air balloon is made up of a large nylon bag or envelope that contains the heated air and a wicker basket which is fastened with wires and ropes. The heated air inside the envelope makes it float or rise since it has a lower density than the external cold air. The hot air inside the balloon is created using a large gas fed burner that is controlled by the balloon pilot. The wicker basket usually holds the pilot and from 1 to 16 passengers.

The hot air balloon is the oldest method of flight that dates back to November 21, 1783, in Paris, France. The first manned flight was piloted by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes originally constructed by the Montgolfier brothers.

Every year there are festivals in North America that dedicated to the sport of ballooning. Many of these are located a short day trip away from the greater Toronto area. For those lucky enough to secure a passenger ticket on a balloon flight to quite often is the culmination of a dream or desire to fulfill an item on your personal bucket list. For this week’s update we are lucky to have a dual perspective on a balloon flight. The passenger’s viewpoint photographed by Cistrone Photography and the thrill of the balloon chase photographed by WatsonPhotography.ca. You can view all of the images in the Gallery.